Apparatus to provide periodic movement

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for providing periodic movement operatively associated with an aerosol dispensing container to actuate the dispenser. The periodic movement apparatus includes a batterypowered drive system which moves an actuating member. Timing means included in the periodic movement apparatus are associated with the drive system so that the actuating member moves at predetermined periodic intervals. The aerosol dispensing container and the entire apparatus for providing periodic movement are contained within a single portable, self-contained housing.

May 8, 1973 United States Patent 1 Florant et a1.

[54] APPARATUS TO PROVIDE PERIODIC MOVEMENT .....335/2()5 Tamm 2/1967Benneth 12/1953 [75] Inventors: Leroy F. Florant, Hempstead; JosephGlickstein, New York, both of N.Y.

Primary Examiner-l-larold Broome Att0rneyEdward F. Levy Syncro-MistControls, Inc., York, N.Y.

Jan. 18, 1971 New [73] Assignee:

ABSTRACT 22 Filed:

[21] AP 1 N0 107 189 An apparatus for providing periodic movement operaptively associated with an aerosol dispensing container to actuate thedispenser. The periodic movement a 317/141 paratus includes abattery-powered drive system which moves an actuating member. Timingmeans included in the periodic movement apparatus are associated withthe drive system so that the actuating member moves at predeterminedperiodic intervals The aerosol dispensing container and the entireapparatus [5 6] References Cited for providing periodic movement arecontained within a single portable, self-contained housing.

UNITED STATES PATENTS ....222/70 13 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures 3,615,04110/1971 Bischoff.......1............... 3,589,563 6/1971 Carragan......

APPARATUS TO PROVIDE PERIODIC MOVEMENT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1Field of the Invention This invention relates to control devices ingeneral, and to devices which automatically dispense a spray atpredetermined, periodic intervals, in particular.

2. Description of the Prior Art It has long been desired to obtain anapparatus to provide periodic movement which apparatus is completelyportable and is capable of operating automatically in a wide variety ofapplications under varying conditions. In order to fulfill theserequirements, such an apparatus must be able to operate for extendedperiods of time without requiring re-energization, maintenance orsupervision, and must be completely independent of any external powersource. An example of an application for such an apparatus would be forautomatically operated spray dispensing devices.

Automatic spray dispensing devices have many important applications,such as for dispensing quantities of an insecticide during extendedperiods of time in various locations where insects pose a problem.However, the automatic dispensing devices previously available providedmany problems which made their use unnecessarily expensive andinconvenient, if not completely impractical.

For example, many of the previously available automatic dispensingdevices required an external power supply which made their useout-of-doors difficult, if not impossible. The dispensing devices whichwere battery powered required either large batteries or frequent batterychanges in order to provide enough power to continuously operate thetiming mechanisms and other apparatus which periodically actuate thedispensing devices. Further, the timing mechanisms incorporated in thepreviously available automatic spray dispensing devices were usually ofa delicate nature and were prone to failure or required frequentservicing.

Additionally, the timing mechanisms of the previously available devicescould not automatically compensate for changes in temperature of theenvironment in which the spray dispensing device was placed. Theseenvironmental changes are of significance in that very often therequirement for the material dispensed, as for example, an insecticide,will increase with an increase in temperature.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To overcome the problems inherent in the priorart, the present application sets forth a portable, self-containedapparatus for providing a periodic movement which includes abattery-powered electrical system which energizes a drive system toproduce movement ot'a member of the apparatus. Timing means within theapparatus control the operation of the electrical system and the drivesystem so that the moving member moves at predetermined periodicintervals. Neither the drive means nor the timing means requires anypower during the dormant periods in between the periods when the movingmember is actually moving. Therefore, the entire apparatus utilizes onlya minimal amount of power from the battery for each movement that thesystem produces. This efficiency of conservation of electrical powerenables the entire apparatus to operate for extended periods of time onlimited amounts of battery power.

In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention toprovide apparatus for providing periodic movement which is completelyportable.

Another object of the present invention is to provide apparatus forproviding periodic movement which needs no external power source.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide apparatus forproviding periodic movement which can be operated by a single batteryfor extended periods of time.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide apparatus forproviding periodic movement having means to adjust or vary the timingcycle of the apparatus.

It is another object of the present invention to provide apparatus forproviding periodic movement which apparatus can operate for extendedintervals of time between periodic servicing.

A further object of the present invention is to provide apparatus forproviding periodic movement which is of simple construction and has aminimum of moving parts.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide apparatusfor providing periodic movement which has no clock mechanism.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide apparatusfor providing periodic movement which incorporates a simplegravity-operated timing device, whose period of operation can be readilyadjusted.

A further object of the present invention is to provide apparatus forproviding periodic movement which is reliable and cheap to operate.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a spray dispensingapparatus which will continuously dispense material at predeterminedintervals.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a periodic spraydispensing apparatus which is completely portable.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a periodicspray dispensing apparatus which needs no additional power source.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a periodicspray dispensing apparatus which can be operated by a single 1% volt drycell.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a periodicspray dispensing apparatus having a timing cycle for dispensing spraywhich can be varied.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a periodicspray dispensing apparatus which can vary the timing for dispensing thematerial in accordance with increases in the temperature of thesurrounding environment.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a periodicspray dispensing apparatus having an extended operating period betweenroutine servicing.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a periodicspray dispensing apparatus which requires absolutely no power duringperiods of the cycle in which the apparatus is dormant.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a periodicspray dispensing apparatus which can operate for periods of longer than3 calendar months on a single D" cell type of flashlight battery.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a periodic spraydispensing apparatus which is of simple construction.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a periodicspray dispensing apparatus which has a minimum of moving parts.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a periodicspray dispensing apparatus which has no clock mechanism.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a periodicspray dispensing apparatus which incorporates a simple gravity-operatedtiming device, whose period of operation can be readily adjusted.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a periodicspray dispensing apparatus which is reliable and cheap to operate.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a periodicspray dispensing apparatus which requires minimum maintenance duringoperation.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a periodicspray dispensing apparatus which is designed so that all operating partsare easily accessible for servicing.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdescription of an embodiment of the invention and the novel featureswill be particularly pointed out hereinafter in connection with theappended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front view of the spraydispensing device built in accordance with the teachings of theinvention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front elevation taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a top elevation, taken along lines 44 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a partial front elevation, taken along lines 5- 5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a schematic representation system of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a top sectional view, taken along lines 77 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a schematic representation of the components of the invention,showing the relative disposition of these pieces.

of the timing DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIGS. I and 2 showthe invention applied as a spray dispensing apparatus, indicatedgenerally at 10. The apparatus is enclosed in a housing having a backwall 12, a front wall I4, a top wall 16, and a bottom wall 18. Frontwall 14 is connected to top wall 16 and bottom wall I8 by upper andlower flanges 20 and 22, which are fastened to upper and lower walls byany convenient means, such as welding, tacking, bonding, etc. Front wall14 has a large cut out section 26 in which an aerosol dispensingcontainer 28 is positioned, with its nozzle 30 mounted atop valve stem32, 'disposed directly below actuating arm 34, which is part of a movingmember means, whose function will now be explained.

The moving member means includes a cam 36 which rotates on a shaft 38,extendingthrough the front wall 7 14 of the housing, and U-shapedtranslating member,

generally indicated at 40, which is pivotally mounted on front wall 14by means of a screw-type connection 42 so that the entire U-shapedmember is free to move in response to motion induced by contact betweencam 36 and the upper arm 46 of the translating member 40. Rotation ofcam 36 causes displacing lobes 44 of the cam to move the entiretranslating member downward, so that linear actuating arm 34 of thetranslating member will depress valve stem 32 and valve nozzle 30combination of aerosol container 28 to cause the aerosol container todischarge a spray of material stored within the aerosol container. Asthe cam con tinues to rotate, rest lands 48 of the cam will be incontact with the cam following arm 46 of the translating member, and theresilience of the valve stem 32 of the aerosol container acting on thelower arm 34 of the translating member will force the entire translatingmember 40 up against the rest lands and allow the aerosol containervalve to shut, ending the spray dispensing period. In order toaccommodate different sizes of aerosol containers and different lengthsof valve travel necessary to actuate aerosol container valve, anadjusting means is included on the translating member which consists ofa bolt 50 and nut 52, which extends through each of the arms to maintainthe space between the arms of the translating member.

The cam 36 of the moving member means is driven by a drive system whichgenerally includes an electric motor and a power train. The power train,generally indicated at 54, is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, mounted on rearwall 12 of the housing and the electric motor 56 is mounted on a bracket58, extending from rear wall 12 of the housing and connected to the wallby screws 59. The motor is mounted on bracket 58 by means of a strap 60and screws 62.

Motor 56, as shown in FIG. 4, has a shaft 64 which is journaled in rearwall 12 of the housing and which shaft has a drive gear 66 which engagesa gear reduction assembly, generally indicated at 68. The gear reductionassembly includes a duplex gear assembly consisting of a large gear 70,which is engaged with gear 66 of motor 56, and a small gear 72 mountedon a common shaft 74. Small gear 72 engages a second large gear 76, sothat the gear reduction assembly substantially reduces the number ofrevolutions of large gear 76 in comparison to the number of revolutionsof drive gear 66 on shaft 64 of motor 56.

Large gear 76 is mounted on a shaft 78 which, in turn, is a portion ofcam shaft 38 for cam 36, so that when electric motor 56 is energized,the rotation of electric motor shaft 64, acting through gear drive 68,will cause cam 36 to rotate.

Electric motor 56 is powered by an electrical power means including abattery power source and an electrical circuit. The power source is astandard flashlighttype battery 80, shown in FIGS. I and 4, which isheld in a mounting container 82, which, in turn, is fastened to frontwall 14 of the housing. The battery and the motor from an electricalcircuit, generally indicated at 83 in FIG. 6, with battery lead 84 goingto the housing of motor 56 and battery lead 86 going to a switchingdevice in the circuit, generally indicated at 88, whose function will beexplained below. Lead connects switch 88 to motor 56 to complete thecircuit.

A timing means, generally indicated at 92, in FIG. 6, is incorporated inthe circuit to provide periodic operation of motor 56 and, therefore,periodic movement of cam 38 to periodically actuate the aerosol spraydispenser. Timing means 92 include switch means 88, previouslymentioned, which is a magnetically responsive, normally open, reedswitch, having an outer casing 94 and two metal reeds 96 and 98, bothreeds being magnetically sensitive. Reed switch 88 is mounted on bracket87 which is fastened to rear wall 12 of the housing by screws 89. Amagnet 100 is disposed fairly close to reed switch 88 and tends to causereeds 96 and 98 to contact each other thereby closing the switch tocomplete circuit 83 and energize motor 56. Magnet 100 is held in abracket 102 connected to a support wall 104 which extends outwardly fromthe rear wall 12 of the housing.

In order to prevent magnet 100 from continuously actuating reed switch88, a control means, generally indicated as 106 in FIG. 6, in the formof an interfering means 108, is disposed between magnet 100 and the reedswitch 88. The interfering means 108 consists of a closed cylindricalcontainer 110 filled with a liquid 112 of predetermined viscouscharacteristics and a plunger member 114 which is magnetically opaque inthat it does not allow a magnetic field to pass through it, as forexample, a ferrous metal. The closed container is pivotally mounted bymeans of a shaft 116 which is connected to a large gear 118 which is ofthe same size and mates with large gear 76 in a one-to-one ratio.

Operation of the control means is as follows. The bouyancy relationshipof plunger member 114 to the liquid 112 within closed container 110 issuch that the plunger will have a negative bouyancy and will tend tosink to the bottom of the closed tubular container. However, because ofthe viscosity of the liquid and the fairly close fit between the plungerand the walls of the container, it will take a substantial period oftime for plunger 114 to move from its uppermost position in thecontainer where it would be interposed between the magnet and the reedswitch, to a position where it would no longer be between these twoelements. Additionally, the magnetic field of magnet 100 will exert asidewise force on magnetically opaque plunger member 114, drawing theplunger against the wall of tubular container 110 and thereby tending toretard the downward movement of the plunger. Once the plunger hasdropped below the level of reed switch 88, the magnetic field will beunimpeded and will be able to actuate the reed switch.

Once the reed switch is actuated, the motor will be energized and gear76, connected to cam 36, will be rotated, thereby pivoting closedtubular container 110. Since plunger member 114 has sunk to the bottomof closed tubular container 110, the rotation of the tubular memberaround the axis of shaft 116 will bring the plunger member back to itsupper position disposed between the magnet and the reed switch, therebyopening the switch and de-energizing the circuit to stop the motor.Therefore, the rotation of the motor transmitted through the power train54 will place. the opaque member of the control means between the magnetand the reed switch to effectively control operation of the circuit. Thebouyancy forces between the liquid and the plunger member, the viscosityof the liquid and the magnetic attraction of the plunger member to themagnet, will provide the means by which the magnetically opaque materialwill remain between the magnet and the reed switch for the desired timeinterval between actuations of the aerosol container.

To insure that motor 56 stops when closed tubular container is in theproper position, a positioning means for the closed tubular container isprovided which consists of a spring member 120 extending from rear wall12 and is fixed to the wall by means of screws 122. The spring memberprovides a lateral force which will tend to hold the bottom of tubularmember 110 in the upright vertical position to allow for the properoperation of the plunger means within the timing apparatus.

It is possible to adjust the time interval provided by the timing meansbetween periods of operation of the motor. Two different methods ofadjustment are provided. The first method of controlling the timing isto effectively reduce the strength of the magnetic field acting on theplunger member. This is done by means of a magnetic field blockingmember 124 which is shown in FIG. 3, mounted on support wall 104 bymeans of slotted bracket 126 which is fastened to the blocking means bya screw 128 in the slotted screw hole 130 to the support bracket. Thefront edge of magnetic field blocking means 124 is biased so thatmovement of the blocking means from left to right by merely pivotingbracket 126 will interpose a greater or lesser portion of themagnetically opaque blocking means between magnet 100 and closed tubularcontainer 110. The field blocking means is made of a magnetically opaquematerial and, therefore, by being selectively interposed between themagnetic means and the plunger member, effectively controls the strengthof the magnetic field exerted on the plunger member and on the reedswitch.

A second means of adjustment is the means for positioning the magneticmeans which consists of a large slotted mounting hole 132 in bracket 102which holds the magnetic means to support wall 104, thereby allowing themagnetic means to be moved in the vertical direction. As seen in FIG. 6,movement of the magnetic means vertically upward will elevate themagnetic field with relation to the plunger member 114, and thereforethe plunger member need sink only a relatively short distance before itreaches a point at which it is no longer interfering with the magneticfield between the raised magnet and the reed switch 88.

As can be seen in FIG. 6, once plunger means falls below the level ofthe magnetic field blocking means 124, there will be no effect on theplunger means by the magnetic field, and the plunger will tend to morerapidly fall to the bottom of the closed tubular member. Therefore, whenthe motor starts as a result of reed switch 88 closing, the plungermeans will be in a position at the end of the closed tubular member asthe member is rotated by operation of the motor, so that the plungerwill be properly positioned at or near the end of the tubular containerin between the magnetic means and the reed switch in order tode-energize the circuit and stop the motor.

Operation of the device is fairly straight-forward and simple. Aerosolcontainer 28 is positioned in the housing with its spray nozzle 30oriented in the direction in which the aerosol spray is desired. Aconventional D" cell type of flashlight battery 80 is placed in thebattery holder 82. Since the closed tubular container 110 will havestopped in the desired operating position because of positioning means120, plunger member 114 will be at the bottom of the container and reedswitch 88 will be closed to energize circuit 83 and start motor 56. Themotor will operate at a fairly high RPM and revolve numerous times, butthe numerous revolutions of the motor will be effectively reduced by thepower train gear reduction assembly 68, so that after the motor hasoperated a short period of time, gear 76 and cam 36 will have revolvedapproximately /& revolutions, or 180. Cam member 36 will have caused camfollower arm 46 of translating member 40 to have been depressed, therebypivoting the entire translating member so as to cause translating arm 34to depress valve stem 32 of the aerosol container 28 to dispense aquantity of spray. As the cam continues to rotate a full 180, theresiliency of the spray valve of the aerosol container forces thetranslating member 34 and cam follower arm 46 of translating member 40upward into the rest lands 48 of the cam member to close the aerosolspray valve.

At the same time that cam 36 is rotating, large gear 118 which isconnected to tubular closed container 110 has rotated the tubularcontainer 180, so that plunger member 114 which was at the bottom of thetubular container is now positioned between the magnetic means 100 andreed switch 88, thereby blocking the magnetic field from magnet 100 andallowing the reed switch to return to its normally open position. Thereed switch, therefore, de-energizes circuit 83 from battery 80 toelectric motor 56 and effectively stops the motors operation. Plunger114 will be held against the wall of closed tubular container 110 by themagnetic field of magnetic means 100 and will gradually sink downwarduntil it is no longer able to interfere with the effect of the magneticfield on the reed switch. The magnet will then close the reed switch andrepeat the cycle.

It should be pointed out that closed tubular container 110 need not becylindrical in shape, nor need the plunger be made entirely of amagnetically opaque material. As shown in FIG. 8, a tubular container134 and a plunger 136 are rectangularly shaped and the magneticallyopaque material can simply be a fairly thin strip of material 138 on onesurface of the plunger member 136.

It should also be noted at this time that there are several distinctfeatures of this apparatus. Although the invention has been described inan application for ac tuating the spray valve of an aerosol container,it should be apparent that the means to provide an actuating movementcan be applied to actuating any type of device susceptible to actuationby a simple mechanical movement. This can include automatic switchingmeans, control means, counting means, etc.

1t should also be pointed out that there is absolutely no outsidephysical force required for functioning of the apparatus between periodsof actuation. The only force acting on the system during the inactiveperiods are the buoyant and gravitational forces and the magnetic fieldof the magnet. Since there is absolutely no power consumed during thedormant period of the cycle, the apparatus operates extremelyeconomically and efficiently. Tests to date have shown that it ispossible to obtain over 10,000 actuating cycles of this system from asingle D cell flashlight type battery,

' when the system has been set to operate with a dormancy period betweenactuating times of fifteen minutes. Therefore, it is possible to use asingle D" cell power source for more than 3 months without requiring areplacement.

It should also be pointed out that the mechanism of the apparatus isextremely simple for the task it is to perform. There are no delicatemechanisms, such as springs, escapements, or other clock mechanisms,used in this system. The only possibly sensitive member of the system isthe closed tubular container in which the plunger member travels. But,since this member is completely sealed, there is almost no way that amalfunction can occur within it.

It should also be noted that it is extremely easy to completely alterthe timing sequence of the entire periodic movement apparatus. All thatis necessary is to remove the closed tubular container and replace itwith a closed tubular container having a liquid with a substantiallydifferent viscostic property. For example, using the same plungermember, if one container were to be filled with a thick oil of highviscosity, while a second container were to be filled with an alcoholliquid of low viscosity, the timing sequence provided by the tubularcontainer with the alcohol would be sub stantially shorter than thetiming sequence provided by the container with the viscous oil.

It should also be noted that preselection of the type of liquid used inthe tubular containing member can provide for variations in the timeperiod of the apparatus depending upon the ambient temperature. It iswell known that viscosity characteristics of various liquids varysubstantially with changes in temperature. Therefore, if for example, itis desired to shorten the dormant period of the apparatus during thedaylight hours, this can be done by providing a liquid whose viscositywill significantly decrease with the increases in temperature whichusually occur during the daylight hours as compared to the temperatureof the evening hours.

While the operation of the apparatus has been described in terms of thenegative buoyancy of a magnetically opaque plunger, the same operationmay be obtained with elements of the reverse buoyant and magneticcharacteristics. For example, the plunger may be made buoyant and of amaterial which will allow the magnetic field to penetrate therethrough,while the liquid in container may be magnetically opaque. In thisinstance, the plunger will have a starting position at the bottom of thecontainer 110 and will travel upwardly through the liquid until it comeswithin the magnetic field and allows the field to pass therethrough tothe reed switch 88.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials andarrangements of parts which have been herein described and illustratedin order to explain the nature of the invention may be made by thoseskilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention asexpressed in the appended claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property ofprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. Apparatus for providing a periodic movement comprising:

electrical power means including a power source and an electricalcircuit connected to said power source;

drive means adapted to be powered by said electrical power means, andincluding an electric motor connected to said power source by saidelectrical circuit, and a power train driven by said electric motor;

moving member means driven by said drive means;

and

timing means operatively associated with said drive means and saidelectrical power means, said timing means being actuated by said drivemeans to produce periodic energization of said electrical circuit, sothat said moving member will be periodically moved by said drive means;

said timing means including magnetic means,

switch means operatively disposed in said electrical circuit andresponsive to said magnetic means to open and close said electricalcircuit, and

control means for controlling actuation of said switch means by saidmagnetic means, and comprising interfering means adapted to be disposedbetween said magnetic means and said switch means to prevent response ofsaid switch means to said magnetic means,

means to relatively rapidly move said interfering means with relation tosaid switch means and said magnetic means, and

means to gradually move said interferring means with relation to saidmagnetic means and said switch means.

2. The apparatus for providing periodic movement claimed in claim 1wherein said control means further comprise:

a closed container formed from magnetically transparent material;

a liquid in said closed container; and

a magnetically opaque member disposed in said container and adapted totravel vertically in said liquid to a rest position when said containeris immobile.

3. The apparatus for providing periodic movement claimed in claim 2further comprising:

means to pivot said container; and wherein:

said closed container is disposed with relation to said switch means andsaid magnetic means so that a portion of said container will be disposedintermediate said switch means and said magnetic means when saidcontainer is disposed in at least two positions greater than ninetydegrees apart;

said means to gradually move said interfering means include the buoyantrelationship between said magnetically opaque member and said liquid insaid closed container; and

said means to rapidly move said interfering means between said switchmeans and said magnetic means include means to pivot said closedcontainer so that said magnetically opaque member will be pivoted withsaid container to a position between said magnetic means and said switchmeans.

4. The apparatus for providing periodic movement claimed in claim 3wherein said magnetically opaque member has negative bouyancy withrespect to the liquid in said closed container so that the rest positionof said magnetically opaque member will be at the bottom of saidcontainer.

5. The apparatus for providing periodic movement claimed in claim 4wherein said control means include means to adjust said timing meanscomprising means to position said magnetic means with relation to saidclosed container to adjust the forces exerted by magnetic means on saidmagnetically opaque member.

6. The apparatus for providing periodic movement claimed in claim 4wherein said control means include means to adjust the timing meanscomprising magnetic field blocking means disposed between said magneticmeans and said control means to adjust the forces exerted by saidmagnetic means on said magnetically opaque member.

7. The apparatus for providing periodic movement claimed in claim 4wherein said control means include positioning means to position saidclosed container, said positioning means comprising:

support means; and

resilient means connected to said support means and disposed withrelation to said closed container to engage said container when aportion of said container is pivoted in between said magnetic means andsaid switch means.

8. The apparatus for providing periodic movement claimed in claim 3wherein said means to pivot said closed container are operativelyassociated with said power train.

9. The apparatus for providing periodic movement claimed in claim 3wherein said moving member means comprise:

cam means operatively connected to said power train;

a translating member displaced by said cam means to convert rotarymotion of said cam means to linear motion; and

support means for said translating member.

10. The apparatus for providing periodic movement claimed in claim 9wherein said translating member includes:

a generally U-shaped member having one arm of said member in contactwith said cam means and the other arm adapted to produce linearactuating movement; and

said U-shaped member pivotally mounted on said support means.

11. The apparatus for providing periodic movement claimed in claim 10wherein said translating member further comprises means to adjust thespacing between said arms of said U-shaped member.

12. The apparatus for providing periodic movement claimed in claim 1further comprising a housing, including:

a front wall;

a rear wall;

a top wall connecting said front wall with said back wall; and

a bottom wall connecting said front wall with said back wall.

13. The apparatus for providing periodic movement claimed in claim 12wherein:

said power train is connected to said back wall;

said electric motor is connected to said back wall;

said moving member means is supported by said front wall;

said front wall includes passage means adapted to receive a standardaerosol spray dispensing device; and

said moving member means is adapted to actuate said aerosol dispensingmeans.

1. Apparatus for providing a periodic movement comprising: electricalpower means including a power source and an electrical circuit connectedto said power source; drive means adapted to be powered by saidelectrical power means, and including an electric motor connected tosaid power source by said electrical circuit, and a power train drivenby said electric motor; moving member means driven by said drive means;and timing means operatively associated with said drive means and saidelectrical power means, said timing means being actuated by said drivemeans to produce periodic energization of said electrical circuit, sothat said moving member will be periodically moved by said drive means;said timing means including magnetic Means, switch means operativelydisposed in said electrical circuit and responsive to said magneticmeans to open and close said electrical circuit, and control means forcontrolling actuation of said switch means by said magnetic means, andcomprising interfering means adapted to be disposed between saidmagnetic means and said switch means to prevent response of said switchmeans to said magnetic means, means to relatively rapidly move saidinterfering means with relation to said switch means and said magneticmeans, and means to gradually move said interferring means with relationto said magnetic means and said switch means.
 2. The apparatus forproviding periodic movement claimed in claim 1 wherein said controlmeans further comprise: a closed container formed from magneticallytransparent material; a liquid in said closed container; and amagnetically opaque member disposed in said container and adapted totravel vertically in said liquid to a rest position when said containeris immobile.
 3. The apparatus for providing periodic movement claimed inclaim 2 further comprising: means to pivot said container; and wherein:said closed container is disposed with relation to said switch means andsaid magnetic means so that a portion of said container will be disposedintermediate said switch means and said magnetic means when saidcontainer is disposed in at least two positions greater than ninetydegrees apart; said means to gradually move said interfering meansinclude the buoyant relationship between said magnetically opaque memberand said liquid in said closed container; and said means to rapidly movesaid interfering means between said switch means and said magnetic meansinclude means to pivot said closed container so that said magneticallyopaque member will be pivoted with said container to a position betweensaid magnetic means and said switch means.
 4. The apparatus forproviding periodic movement claimed in claim 3 wherein said magneticallyopaque member has negative bouyancy with respect to the liquid in saidclosed container so that the rest position of said magnetically opaquemember will be at the bottom of said container.
 5. The apparatus forproviding periodic movement claimed in claim 4 wherein said controlmeans include means to adjust said timing means comprising means toposition said magnetic means with relation to said closed container toadjust the forces exerted by magnetic means on said magnetically opaquemember.
 6. The apparatus for providing periodic movement claimed inclaim 4 wherein said control means include means to adjust the timingmeans comprising magnetic field blocking means disposed between saidmagnetic means and said control means to adjust the forces exerted bysaid magnetic means on said magnetically opaque member.
 7. The apparatusfor providing periodic movement claimed in claim 4 wherein said controlmeans include positioning means to position said closed container, saidpositioning means comprising: support means; and resilient meansconnected to said support means and disposed with relation to saidclosed container to engage said container when a portion of saidcontainer is pivoted in between said magnetic means and said switchmeans.
 8. The apparatus for providing periodic movement claimed in claim3 wherein said means to pivot said closed container are operativelyassociated with said power train.
 9. The apparatus for providingperiodic movement claimed in claim 3 wherein said moving member meanscomprise: cam means operatively connected to said power train; atranslating member displaced by said cam means to convert rotary motionof said cam means to linear motion; and support means for saidtranslating member.
 10. The apparatus for providing periodic movementclaimed in claim 9 wherein said translating member includes: a generallyU-shaped member having one arm of said member in contact witH said cammeans and the other arm adapted to produce linear actuating movement;and said U-shaped member pivotally mounted on said support means. 11.The apparatus for providing periodic movement claimed in claim 10wherein said translating member further comprises means to adjust thespacing between said arms of said U-shaped member.
 12. The apparatus forproviding periodic movement claimed in claim 1 further comprising ahousing, including: a front wall; a rear wall; a top wall connectingsaid front wall with said back wall; and a bottom wall connecting saidfront wall with said back wall.
 13. The apparatus for providing periodicmovement claimed in claim 12 wherein: said power train is connected tosaid back wall; said electric motor is connected to said back wall; saidmoving member means is supported by said front wall; said front wallincludes passage means adapted to receive a standard aerosol spraydispensing device; and said moving member means is adapted to actuatesaid aerosol dispensing means.